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Woodstock
athletics
honored
The Woodstock athletic department was again chosen by the Michaels Achievement Cup Committee of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference as one of the 22 schools to receive the prestigious award for the 2020-21 school year.
It’s the second time in a row that The Woodstock Academy has been honored for its ongoing commitment to sportsmanship and community service.
“It’s really nice,” said Woodstock Academy athletic director Sean Saucier. “The kids and coaches work really hard going different community service projects as part of the mission of the athletic department. Just about every team does a community service project. We do a lot of nice things, support different clubs and charities.”
The Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team recently sponsored a toy collection on campus for the Toys for Tots program; the football team did a similar project with a toy drive that was held at the Woodstock Fire Department in the late fall and the field hockey team did a burpee challenge to raise money for the B Club at the school which donates money to families with children struggling with an illness.
Those are just a few of the examples.
“(The award) is a little perk for our athletes and coaches for the efforts they put in for the community service they do and also the sportsmanship part. We work really hard at playing the game the right way and being model citizens on the sports field,” Saucier said.
The award recognizes athletic programs for their willingness to subscribe to the Class Act Sportsmanship standards, empowering students to take an active role in their high school climate and their continued support for community service.
“It’s about all the little things that you try and do. I think back to this fall with some schools struggling with transportation and we were able to go and help out a couple of schools and get them here for games so we didn’t have to postpone or cancel any contests. It’s all the little things you do to try and help the schools and be good citizens in the athletic world. It’s nice to be recognized,” Saucier added.
Woodstock and the other schools will be formally recognized during the CIAC virtual Sportsmanship Conference on Jan. 28.
Boys’ Hockey
It wasn’t by choice, But it’s hard to argue with a virus.
The Woodstock boys’ hockey team was supposed to play two games last week but their second, a trip to Cromwell to play the Rocky Hill Cooperative program was postponed until Jan. 3 due to a COVID issue with Rocky Hill.
“We go from skating on (Monday) and (Wednesday) to nothing until our next game on Monday (Dec. 27). That’s where it’s disappointing and a little frustrating but they are athletes and should be able to show up regardless of circumstance and I’m sure (Auburn) will be coming in on a holiday break of some sort as well. I’m not worried about it. I just would have liked to play the game because I thought we played really well even if it was a loss in East Haven,” said coach Kevin Bisson.
The Centaurs fell to the Yellowjackets 3-2, at the Northford Ice Pavilion in a game that featured a memorable occurrence for a pair of Woodstock players. .
With East Haven in the lead, 2-1, Centaur sophomore Noah Sampson put the puck in front of the net onto the stick of freshman teammate Maxx Corradi who scored with 4:27 left.
“Those two kids have been playing together since maybe 6 years old, since Mite hockey, and have been linemates and teammates for a long time. For Noah to assist on Maxx’s first varsity goal is one of those extra-special moments,” Bisson said.
It was a little bittersweet as it did come in a loss. A puck was flipped into the Centaurs’ zone by the Yellowjackets.
It eluded goalie Dante Sousa with 2 minutes, 6 seconds left, E. Haven was there to redirect it into the net for the win.
“To my team’s credit, we were pushing and battling in those last two minutes and not giving anything up, but taking it to East Haven. Give East Haven credit, it weathered the storm. We outshot them by a significant margin and they kept us from cashing in,” Bisson said.
Woodstock (1-1), as it had in the first outing, fell behind quickly as the Yellowjackets scored just 1:18 into the game.
“I’m not concerned,” Bisson said. “In the first game, I gave some players short notice that they were going to play different spots so I take ownership of that one. (Pompano) had scored back-to-back hat tricks in his first two games and we knew he was the one to watch so it was unfortunate that he was able to pop one in. It’s early in the season, we may need a little better focus, a little better warm up and just, overall, a better mental preparedness for the start of games.”
Evan Haskins tied the game up for the Centaurs off a pass from Shawn Wallace with 2:53 left in the second period.
Indoor Track
Senior Linsey Arends took in the 2nd ECC Developmental. The holiday week took its toll on attendance as the second ECC developmental meet took less than three hours to complete.
Arends finished first in the mile (5 minutes, 46 seconds) and also led the field around in the 1000m (3:21).
Freshman Juliet Allard qualified for state competition in the 55-meter hurdles with a first-place finish in 9.96 seconds. Allard also established a new personal best in the 55-meter dash (7.94) which was good enough for third.
On the boys’ side, Centaurs junior Vincente Bastura was first in the mile (4:50). Senior Ian Hoffman finished second in the 1000m (2:50) and was third in the pole vault. Junior Jeff Phongsa placed third in the 55-meter dash as he crossed the line in 7.15 seconds.
Girls’ Basketball
The Centaurs battled through inexperience. Going back to the drawing board is something young teams have to do every so often especially when things aren’t going as hoped. Such is the case for the girls’ basketball team.
The Centaurs dropped to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in Div. II of the ECC when they fell to Killingly, 58-26, in their only game of this holiday week.
It was their fourth game in a week after having played three in the first week of the season.
Coach Will Fleeton said, “I don’t think rest is what we need right now, what we need is some basketball focus. Maybe not having a game every other night is good for that, but rest is definitely not what we need.”
The Centaurs struggled in the first half against Killingly, falling behind by double digits.
“I think our youth has showed the past couple of games. I think we have to settle down a bit, take care of ourselves. We have to battle through the youth, make mistakes to gain; if we make adjustments to fix those mistakes and gain from it, then we will be a better group,” Fleeton said.
There were positive signs. The Centaurs hit the boards, especially the offensive glass, in the second half.
“I was looking for something and I think the five kids who played the second half for the most part gave it their best effort and that’s all I was looking for. As far as the offensive rebounding, they wanted to go and get and they went and got it,” Fleeton said.
Junior Alex Cloutier had six offensive rebounds and freshman Eva Monahan added five. Monahan led the Centaurs with 12 points while Leila MacKinnon added nine.
It’s not like this was unexpected. Div. II of the ECC is loaded. “Everyone is tough and every night out will be a battle for us, I knew that coming in. With a young, inexperienced team, we knew we would have a fight on our hands and even with experience, it would have been tough in Division II,” Fleeton said. “I’m not surprised with what I’ve seen.”
Fortunately for the Centaurs, they get away from the ECC battles next week as they play in the Cranston (R.I.) tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“It might be better than playing just playing the team we knew a lot about,” Fleeton said. “Maybe we’re better off not knowing anything. There are a few different rules, I know the teams that will be there but don’t know what they have. We were there prior to COVID so it’s all a mystery right now.”
“It was good bonding trip (two years ago) and we figured some things out there that helped us in league play. Maybe the same thing will happen this time,” Fleeton said.
Boys’ Basketball
The boys’ basketball team went on its two longest road trips of the season over the holiday week. Unfortunately, the travel didn’t help.
The Centaurs went into the Christmas holiday still seeking their first win of the season as a 51-37 loss in New London dropped them to 0-4.
“We’re seeing incremental improvements,” said coach Marty Hart. “We’re playing better and better basketball against tougher and tougher competition. It’s good to be back in the full ECC to have these strong, tough games because it gives us this instant feedback that we need to make the improvements that are necessary.”
It took a bit for the host Whalers to put this one away Dec. 23. They led by only four, 10-6, at the end of the first quarter and only extended that advantage by a point, 23-18, at the half.
The Centaurs were hanging tough because of their ability to dominate the boards.
“We had 73 percent of the available boards and we held (New London’s) second-chance points to under 10. Next, we move on to shot selection, ball movement and ball control.” said Hart.
Despite an eight-point flurry by Woodstock senior center Huck Flanagan in the third quarter, New London pushed the lead to double digits, 40-29, after three and outscored the Centaurs 11-8 in the final quarter.
Flanagan played well as he finished with a double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds. Parker Anderson tossed in nine for the Centaurs. Three players were in double digits for New London (2-1) led by Sean Raymond and Rhodia Perry who each finished with 13 points. Anthony Martinez added 10.
The Centaurs opened the week with a junket to Stonington and fell to the Bears, 70-62.
The Centaurs led through the first three quarters by one point, 49-48, but were outscored by the Bears, 22-13, in the fourth.
Anderson paced Woodstock Academy with 16 points. Jackson Goetz added 13 and Brandon Nagle 10. Nate Cyr scored 14 points in the first half and almost equaled that for the Bears in the second as he finished with a game-high 26. Cyr finished with five 3-pointers.
Dorian White added 19 for Stonington, with over half of those points coming from the free throw line where he was 10-for-13 including 7-for-9 in the fourth. Cam Hinchey also hit double figures for the Bears with 14.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Getting Ahead
Woodstock Academy junior Alex Cloutier looks to get to the basketball ahead of Killingly defender Ella Lach (3). Photo by Marc Allard.
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